The Farr Side: Roseanne fallout: What’s next?

David T. Farr More Content Now

Thursday

Jun 7, 2018 at 8:53 AMJun 7, 2018 at 8:53 AM

Leave it to Roseanne Barr. Who would have thought a few late-night offensive tweets would do her in? Thankfully, the right people did. ABC took immediate action and canceled the reboot of the popular sitcom.

News of Barr’s racist and Islamophobic tweet spread like wildfire on social media. Her tweet took aim at former President Barack Obama’s White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.

Barr referred to Jarrett as having connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and comparing her to an ape. She wrote, “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj.“

Barr is not immune to attacking leftist groups or people. Even on her show’s reboot, she plays a working class woman who also is a supporter of President Donald Trump. She has been known to engage with Trump’s critics online and to spread conspiracy theories shared by his base.

“Roseanne” returned to ABC after a 20-year hiatus. The reboot was the network’s most-watched “new” series, averaging nearly 18 million viewers per episode.

It’s unfortunate she had to ruin everything for so many people. “Roseanne” already had been renewed for a full second-season, too. But it had to be done.

I don’t feel bad for Barr. She knew exactly the possible consequences for her actions, but for some reason she tweeted them anyhow. I almost think she assumed if Trump can do those sorts of things and get away with it, so can she.

I feel badly for other members of the “Roseanne” cast. They returned for this and worked hard to pull off a return to prime-time two decades after the show’s run. I doubt many people thought the show would sustain such a big audience, but it did. In fact, the reboot was garnering more viewers than episodes in the last season of its initial run.

I enjoyed watching the new episodes, even with Roseanne Conner’s tougher exterior. The down-on-its-luck family had a way of pulling it together. I was particularly fond of Darlene’s character, played by Sara Gilbert. Her character seem the most relatable to today’s world. She’s educated, smart and has two children, but when she lost her job, she and her children were back in the Conner household.

Gilbert took major offense to Barr’s tweet, calling it, “abhorrent.” She also responded on social media, “Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show. I am disappointed in her actions to say the least.“

Barr, 65, removed her original tweet and blamed the makers of Ambien for her late-night gibberish on Twitter.

I think Ambien’s makers may have said the only thing funny about any of this mess when they responded, “Racism is not a known side effect to Ambien.“

Now that “Roseanne” is done, what happens next? And, could there be a spin-off series? The cast is open to the ideas circulating, reports say. It appears Gilbert has the best shot at making that a possible viable option. I’d be thrilled to see her turn this turn of events into something positive and forthright.

Now, if only something could be done regarding that other known late-night tweeter.— David T. Farr can be reached at farrboy@hotmail.com.